into Pokot women's awareness of seemingly
contradictory themes in their society: In
their initiation rite, on the one hand they
express an acceptance of the social ideal of
obedience to husbands and fathers, while on
the other they assert their strength and soli
darity as a group, with individual power to
use their sexuality as they see fit.
Now came the time for the chemeri to
bedeck themselves for kipuno. A crowd
gathered at P'Simat's dance area. From
miles around people had come adorned in
their finery to honor the initiates' bravery
and to dance to jubilant songs.
None of the guests, though, could match
the grace and radiance of the "new women"
when they joined the dance circle. Their
bodies glistened with ghee, every ornament
hung in place, and their bright bead neck
laces glittered in the sun. They danced with
an air of aloof pride, but the excited crowd
set the overall mood of celebration.
Four more days would pass before the end
of initiation. Chesinen and her sister gradu
ates spent three of them visiting male rela
tions who blessed them and promised gifts of
livestock. On the fourth day, a final, very
private ceremony took place that knotted
the ritual bond between the older and youn
ger women of the neighborhood. That very
night many of the initiates went as brides to
their husbands' homes. There they would
raise their families and, in coming years,
teach their daughters, as would the men
their sons, the elaborate rites that reaffirm
traditional Pokot ways.
Western Influence Growing Stronger
Such a cultural continuation may be a
fading dream. The Pokot are under pressure
to assume a more active, participatory role
in modern Kenya. New roads cut through
their homeland, from both east and west.
Although the Pokot have withstood ac
culturation, their indifference has been
shaken by the recent drought and raiding
and by ambitious development plans. But to
assume that life among the Pokot could, or
even should, remain unchanged is unrealis
tic. I only hope that modernization will be
carried through with an understanding of,
and sensitivity to, Pokot beliefs and values.
If not, the dignity and pride of the Pokot peo
ple may be crushed and lost forever.
I was soon to leave his land when old
Chermit, my Pokot father, died minutes be
fore I could reach his hut. His wife I found
sitting on one of his favorite stones, looking
out across the valley. No wailing. No dis
play of grief. She was simply silent.
The past two years I have spent in
England at Cambridge University complet
ing work for my doctoral degree. News of
the Pokot comes in letters from Murray,
who sometimes visits the area, and from
Yohana, a Pokot boy I am putting through
school in Ortum. Murray's latest letter was
disturbing: When he recently went to
Chepoptukoi, he found that all our friends
and neighbors there were in Western
dress-difficult to imagine, yet I know it's
no use lamenting the transformation.
Change Is Fact of Pokot Life
We had already observed changes in dress
and an influx of Western goods when living
with the agriculturists in 1979-a momen
tum of progress we knew would increase.
The Pokot are not strangers to such influ
ences: Mission and government posts have
been established in the area since the early
1900s. But now the pressures to modernize
are greater, especially among the agricultur
ists whose region the new roads have made
much more accessible.
I remember, when Chermit died, feeling
that an era had ended. But such a thought
would have angered Chermit. Profound and
proud, he knew how to adapt to change.
Like him, some of the educated young Pokot
- Yohana, for instance-are beginning to
see not only the beneficial aspects of West
ernization but the enduring values of their
own culture as well. The future is theirs.
The Pokot word for good-bye also means
"thanks." I never got to say good-bye to
Chermit, but then I never said good-bye to
the Pokot either. I hope I may say thanks,
though, by playing a positive role in their
future, helping to bridge the gap of under
standing between our ways and theirs.
I feel lucky to have shared in the richness
of the Pokot world. I often remember
Chermit's giving the words of traditional
blessing, each phrase repeated by everyone
present: "The stars are hearing, the earth is
hearing. The people are hearing-all is well,
good, sweet. Then laugh, laugh, laugh." 0
National Geographic,January1982
140